The crowd gazes upwards, harmonizing along with the naturally soprano Judah Dadone. The echo of one-syllable breathy gasps make up Freelance Whales’ first track on their debut album, Weathervanes – "Generator ^ 1st Floor." A banjo soon emerges, along with a piercing synth and the occasional glockenspiel. Throughout the evening, Freelance Whales played every song off Weathervanes, with none being particularly loyal to the album… not to say that’s a bad thing. Some songs gained new verses while others lost a chorus or an instrumental section.

The Loft at UCSD perfectly suited the five-piece multi-instrumentalists within its cozy and intimate setting, allowing Freelance Whales to play their set with comfort and ease. The stand-outs of the evening were “Ghosting,” “Broken Horse” and “Generator ^ 2ndFloor,” but that was expected, seeing as those are the stand-outs on Weathervanes. The real treat came during the encore, as Freelance Whales surprised the audience with an accurate yet adaptive cover of Broken Social Scene’s “7/4 (Shoreline).” Check out a version of the same cover performed in Philadelphia here. Below are some shots of the evening’s show.

Listen to Freelance Whales here.